BJP national president Amit Shah today said that the passage of the GST Bill, which was placed in the Rajya Sabha today, would usher in a new era of economic reforms and development in the country.

“Today the GST Bill has been placed in Parliament. The Bill is very important for West Bengal. With its passage, a new era of economic reforms will be ushered in and it will contribute to the development of the country,” Shah said while addressing a party programme here.

The Congress and most other political parties, except AIADMK, today expressed support with certain conditions to the introduction of the GST in the country.

The BJP president countered criticism by opposition parties over many foreign trips of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arguing that actually Modi had undertaken less foreign trips than his predecessor Manmohan Singh.

“If you go through the statistics you will see that Modiji had undertaken less foreign trips than his predecessor Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singhji also undertook several foreign trips, but the difference is that nobody was aware of such trips because he used to visit foreign countries silently and come back silently,” Shah claimed.

“He just used to visit a foreign country, read out the statement and come back. And at times he read out the printout meant for Indonesia in Malaysia and Malaysia in Indonesia. But whenever Modiji visits a foreign country thousands of people came out to greet him. This love and respect is not meant for Modiji but for the people of the country,” Shah said.

Shah said that the biggest achievement of the BJP government was to check corruption in the country and Modi ensured that poor people had bank accounts enabling them to receive benefits directly.

“By the direct transfer of subsidies, corruption worth thousands of crores of rupees has been checked. India is witnessing a new era of hope under the BJP rule, which is in sharp contrast to the despair the country had witnessed during the Congress rule,” he said.